By Debbie Adams
The William Byrd High School Beta Club inducted 74 new members into the honor society at a
ceremony at the school on October 7. This is the 64th year that WBHS has welcomed new
members into the Beta Club, which was chartered in 1960.
WBHS Principal Travis Anderson welcomed students and their guests to the induction ceremony
and noted the requirements for becoming part of the “prestigious organization.” Rising seniors
must have a grade point average of 3.75 or higher. In addition, they must be willing to serve their
communities by completing at least 10 hours of community service throughout their senior year.
The main objectives of Beta Club are “to set an example for the entire student body and to
promote the four pillars of achievement, character, leadership, and service.”
Four Beta Club members then reviewed the four pillars of the National Beta organization and
shared the importance of each.
ceremony. They were (from left) Wyatt Bowles, Emma Rupe, Nathan Rogers, and Josephine
Taylor.
Senior Wyatt Bowles spoke about the first pillar of Beta – achievement. “Achievement, clearly
defined, is a result gained by effort. By being invited to become a Beta member, we’ve already
accomplished a great achievement, but it shouldn’t stop now. Maintaining one’s membership
requires dedication and a focus on daily accomplishments. Betas are encouraged to stay
motivated in order to maintain success within this pillar. Challenge yourself, Betas: set goals,
overcome obstacles, continually improve, and do your best both academically and beyond.”
Emma Rupe described the second pillar of Beta – character. “When Dr. John W. Harris founded
National Beta in 1934, he set out to create an organization that helped students learn to make a
life for themselves. He knew that an individual of moral character, who understood charity,
cooperation, honesty, responsibility, and humility, would be able to move forward in life with the
skills needed to work with others and give back to their community. By emphasizing character as
one of the four pillars, we are being prepared for life and empowered to be successful.”
Senior Nathan Rogers talked about the third pillar of Beta – leadership. “Our generation will one
day become the leaders of tomorrow. We’ll need to learn how to properly translate vision into
reality, to guide our fellow peers in the right direction through effective planning, decision
making, communication, and teamwork. But above all, we’ll need patience and a willingness to
lead by example. By becoming a Beta, we’re already embarking on a path to learn these skills. Once gained, we’ll be in a unique position to make a difference in our school, community, state,
and beyond.”
Josie Taylor talked about the fourth and final pillar of Beta – service. “Service and leadership are
closely tied for Beta members through the demonstration of our motto ‘Let Us Lead by Serving
Others.’ The Beta organization’s founder believed that it was not only our duty, but a privilege to
serve our community. Through service, may we begin to think of others before ourselves. Betas,
I encourage you to make a habit of recognizing needs, big or small, in our school and
community, and then to make your fellow members aware of those needs. Together, we will
work to address these issues and make an impact on those around us. On behalf of all the new
members, I acknowledge these four fundamental pillars of Beta. We will do our best to
demonstrate them as we work to become humble, servant leaders.”
Anderson then called the new Beta Club members to the stage to receive their certificates. Once
all students were on stage, he led them in the Beta Pledge: “As a proud member of National Beta,
I pledge to be honest and truthful, maintain academic excellence, and conduct myself in an
ethical manner. I am dedicated to serving others and contributing to the collective success of my
peers.”
Anderson encouraged each new member to “always be a leader, demonstrate good character,
work hard in your academic endeavors, and serve others before yourself.”
The William Byrd High School Beta Club inductees for 2024-2025 are Mario Arias, Ava
Ashworth, Kassius Ayres, Christian Barrette, Carson Bivens, Wyatt Bowles, Carson Bramble,
Dawson Brinkley, Hunter Butterworth, Erika Coon, Evan Copening, Zahara Davis, Abigail Day,
Graysen Divers, Alejandro Dooley, Camryn Dullaghan, McKinley Figart, Emily Fisher, Skylar
Fitzgerald, Lacie Gibson, Emily Glass, Kendall Gordon, Payton Hall, Aidan Hardy, Abigail
Haroulakis, Ethan Haston, Luke Hemming, Megan Higgins, Sophie Holcomb, Allie Jamison,
Hannah Janney, Jada Johnson, Lillian Johnson, Mallory Johnson, Kristin Kochendarfer, Raelyn
Lancaster, Sara Lang, Kendall Lecas, Nathaniel Lynn, Kaylee Makuch, Ryan Markham,
Samantha Martin, Aldahir Martinez-Garcia, Emma Matthews, Jenna Matthews, Jake Moore,
Grace Onwi, Eliza Otey, Ellawyn Pagan, Christian Parker, Genevieve Paul, Spencer Peters,
Madelyn Pittman, Marcayla Poindexter, Isabella Posadas, Ethan Powell, Becca Radford, Meera
Raichura, Blake Richardson, Nathan Rogers, Johnathan Rozenboom, Reid Ruble, Emma Rupe,
Vanessa Sattah, Nathan Short, Luke Skelton, Gregory Stiltner, Josephine Taylor, William
Thompson, Sarah Wilcox, Carson Wood, Grace Woodcock, Mary Wray, and Virginia Yonce.
This year’s Beta Club sponsors are Carla Hatfield and Brian Butler.
